Crispy Falafel
This crispy baked falafel recipe is so easy to make and tastes incredible! Serve your falafel in pita sandwiches or salads. Gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Raise your hand if you love falafel! I’ve gone back into the archives to highlight my all-time favorite homemade falafel recipe. Making falafel at home can be tricky, but this recipe is easy.
Six reasons to love this healthy falafel recipe:
- These falafels are golden brown and crispy on the outside. The insides are tender, delicious, and full of fresh herbs.
- They’re baked instead of fried, so they contain significantly less fat than fried falafel. And your house won’t smell like fried food for days. Winning!
- Once your chickpeas are sufficiently soaked, the falafel mixture comes together in no time. If you have someone to help shape the patties, they’ll come together even faster.
- These falafels are gluten free and vegan, so they’re a great party appetizer.
- These falafels freeze well, so they’re a fantastic protein-rich option to keep on hand for future salads and pita sandwiches.
- On that note, this recipe is easily doubled! See recipe notes.
Are you convinced yet? Let’s make some falafel!
How to Make the Best Homemade Falafel
Bake it, don’t fry it. I say this because frying requires a lot of sizzling hot oil, and that scares me. I also don’t have a good vent over my oven to take the fried food smell far, far away. Plus, you can use a reasonably amount of heart-healthy olive oil in the baked version.
Coat your rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. That way, you get a fried effect in the oven, and you don’t have to brush the little falafels individually with olive oil. Winning!
Use dried chickpeas, not canned. Canned chickpeas do not work for falafel. They’re far too wet. If you try to use canned chickpeas instead of dried and soaked chickpeas, you’ll end up with sad falafel pancakes. Some recipes try to counteract the wetness by adding flour, which significantly dulls the flavor and makes the texture more doughy.
Soak the dried chickpeas for at least four hours. If your chickpeas aren’t sufficiently softened, you’ll have unpalatably tough pieces of chickpea in your falafel. There’s just no workaround here.
Choose your dried chickpeas wisely. Try to buy your dried chickpeas from a store with high turnover, because old chickpeas need longer to soften. If you have options, pick the chickpeas that are the smallest, since they’ll soften faster.
Watch How to Make Crispy Falafel
Falafel Serving Suggestions
Serve falafel as an appetizer, wrap it into a pita sandwich, or add it to salad for a protein-rich topping. Falafel goes great with any of the following ingredients:
- Pita bread, warmed or toasted (tear it up for pita “croutons”)
- Fresh greens (such as spring greens or chopped romaine)
- Tomatoes, sliced
- Bell peppers, cut into strips
- Cucumber, thinly sliced
- Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- Raw red onion, thinly sliced, or quick-pickled onions
- Feta cheese, crumbled
- Sauce: Something creamy like tzatziki, hummus, or tahini sauce, and maybe a spicy sauce like zhoug or shatta, too
Here’s a tahini dressing recipe that goes great with this falafel, too:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- Zest and juice of 1 small lemon
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- Pinch of cayenne
- 1/3 cup water
In a small food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend well. You can also whisk the ingredients together by hand in a small bowl, just note that you’ll need to chop the fresh herbs and zest more finely than you would if you were using a food processor.
Please let me know how you like these falafel in the comments! I hope you love them as much as I do. ♥
Crispy Falafel
This homemade falafel recipe is absolutely delicious, and remarkably crispy! Be sure to allow 4 hours soaking time for the chickpeas, preferably overnight. Then, the falafel mixture is super easy to make in a food processor. Recipe yields 12 to 13 falafels (see notes on how to double).
Ingredients
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup dried (uncooked/raw) chickpeas, rinsed, picked over and soaked for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator
- ½ cup roughly chopped red onion (about ½ small red onion)
- ½ cup packed fresh parsley (mostly leaves but small stems are ok)
- ½ cup packed fresh cilantro (mostly leaves but small stems are ok)
- 4 cloves garlic, quartered
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon (about 25 twists) freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- With an oven rack in the middle position, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour ¼ cup of the olive oil into a large, rimmed baking sheet and turn until the pan is evenly coated.
- In a food processor, combine the soaked and drained chickpeas, onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Using your hands, scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time. Shape the falafel into small patties, about 2 inches wide and ½ inch thick. Place each falafel on your oiled pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, carefully flipping the falafels halfway through baking, until the falafels are deeply golden on both sides. These falafels keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for several months.
Notes
Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.
Make-ahead option: I haven’t tried this, but the original recipe notes that the uncooked falafel patties can be refrigerated on a parchment-lined baking sheet, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours before baking.
How to double this recipe: Preheat the oven with two oven racks near the center of the oven. Double all of the ingredients. If you have a large food processor (guessing 11+ cup capacity), you can mix all of the ingredients at once. Use two baking sheets, and swap their positions (top to bottom, bottom to top) when you flip the falafel halfway through baking.
Recommended equipment: I love my 11-cup food processor (affiliate link).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
These are fantastic!! I don’t recommend a Ninja bullet (only appliance I had for these), but the effort was still worth it.
I’m starting my whole food vegetarian journey with these and they will be a part of my regular rotation. Thank you for the deliciousness.
I just had to make them with a Magic Bullet also…. safe to say I won’t be doing that again hahaha! Still in the oven so hoping the turn out as great as yours did. :)
It’s very good!
This is my 2nd recipe from your site (first was that incredible veggie lasagna), and this did not disappoint! The whole family liked it, and my husband, big meat eater, LOVED it. 2 for 2 – thank you & will be searching for #3 next!
So good!! Because of these, we now have falafel Wednesdays. Thank you!!
I normally don’t comment on recipes but these are fantastic! Both my brother and mom thought they were wonderful, and everyone wanted more! I served these with your hummus and baba ganoush recipes, and everything paired perfectly. The spices really came through. Tomorrow I might just have to make some pita bread to go with all this :D
I’m glad you did, Ash!
Baked mine in the bbq, use low heat when doing so :)
Super tasty! Will try adding lots of chillies next time
Thank you for your review, Ellie!
My daughter made these baked falafel for dinner! I ate 3! They are so amazing!
Nancy D
Flavor was good but did bind together and were soft and crumbly. Will try adding flour next time.
I almost gave up on homemade falafel until I found this recipe – it is now a staple dinner at our house. I always double it and freeze the extras. So good! While we love the flavor, do you you have other seasoning suggestions to switch it up?
I’m glad you didn’t give-up! I love this as it is. You can always increase what you like in it. I love this with my best tahini sauce!
Do they freeze well?
Hi there, I had high hopes for this recipe but it didn’t turn out at all. The beans were really hard even though I soaked it for for 13 hours and the mixture fell apart when I trying to form them into patties. Any suggestions?
Use canned chickpeas perhaps?? I don’t do well with dry beans. Last time I TRIED using them (for chili), it was a disaster! Soaked the beans for 24 hrs but they STILL came out dry/hard, even after cooking my chili in a slow cooker all day! I vowed to never again to even attempt working with dried beans.
Hi Toni, I didn’t have luck with canned for this one. But, if you do that is great!
No, don’t use canned beans. I did and it was a disaster. They were so runny and were never really patties. The taste was delicious but they were more mush than patties.
Always soak beans overnight to get the best results
Renu
Renu, I soaked them for TWENTY FOUR HOURS, n they were still too tough!
The same thing happened to me all i did is i added a little bit of flour say 1 tablespoom and it turned out amazing
hey there, we cooked the chickpeas for a few minutes after soaking, which helps.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one, Galina! Unfortunately, I have found beans can really vary. Sometimes they need to be soaked even longer.
Hi there, I had a similar problem so I’ll try soaking for longer next time but they *just* about held together as I placed them very gently onto the baking tray! I wonder whether a little gram flour (which is chickpea flour) might help bind them together? Tasted unbelievable though so I will definitely be persevering.
These were so good! Made double batch. Will be making them again soon!
Thank you for sharing, Lily!
Wow! We made falafel once before following a recipe from another site and it was unsuccessful. I was nervous to try again, but I love falafel so much I was desperate for a home-cooked version. I was hopeful with the soaked chickpeas (rather than canned), and Kate, KUDOS! This falafel truly is crispy on the outside, full of flavor on the inside and so delicious. Thank you!!
These were tasty and worked well with the “quick” soak option on my bag of dried beans but just too much oil in the pan in my opinion! They were greasy Which is disappointing because that’s the reason I looked for something baked instead of fried.
I will try to make these again and use less oil. Thanks for sharing!
These are wonderful!! And so much less mess and healthier than if you pan fried them. I really enjoy your recipes. Your blog is helpful, rather than verbose. I’m so glad I found your site.
Thank you, Catherine! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe and others from my blog. :)
This has to be the best falafel I’ve ever had! And I live in the Middle East and have had loads of different falafels….and like all your recipes, it so easy to follow…I served it with your tzatziki —soooo good
That’s a huge compliment! Thanks so much for sharing, Sarah.
Excited to try this recipe!
I don’t have a food processor.
Do you think a simple blender or even an immersion blender would work?
Thanks
PS I have made your pumpkin muffins like 40 times. So good!
You could try your blender! Let me know how it turns out for you.
The taste is great and I followed the recipes fully but some of them fall apart. I checked the other comments but nobody mentioned that. I am wondering what was wrong?
Thank you
Hi! Sometimes it’s the chickpeas, unfortunately. There is no way to tell how old some are when buying them in the store. Sometimes the older they are, the more dry result you can get. I wish I had a solution!
I found these really hard to digest with the raw/soaked chickpeas. I would love some suggestions because I like the idea of the recipe. But the gas following the consumption was impressive! Fyi: I soaked the beans for at least 24 hours in fridge…
I’m sorry to hear that! You baked them following, correct?
I love all of your recipes but this one seems to be my favorite. I crave this one often. It feels so nutritious and tastes sooo good. I mostly eat them alone or on a salad. I love them as leftovers as well.
I’m glad you love it, Kelli! Thanks for your review.
Yes, I followed the baking directions.
Hi, Kate.
I was looking for a baked falafel recipe online and found this one and tried it out today. I ended up making burger-sized patties because my blender was fighting me so I had a chunkier mixture than I would have liked, but the falafel still ended up being delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I saw a baba ganoush recipe here as well, and I can’t wait to try that one next :)
Hi,
I have some cooked chickpeas on hand. I had soaked them overnight and cooked to use it in another recipe and have some left. Can that be used in this recipe? Please let me know. I really would love to try this sooner than later as I have all ingredients ready.
I have tried several recipes from your blog and this has become my go to place for anything vegetarian and HEALTHY. Thank you very much !!!
As long as you have the quantity, it could work. I didn’t use cooked prior to the processing. It might be a little different consistency, but worth a shot! Let me know if you try it.
Sure and thank you.
Hi,
Has anyone used beaten egg whites to hold the falafel together instead of an oil?
I’m a newbie to making falafel and would like some of the skilled, seasoned chefs to comment on my thought.
Thanks,
Paula
Hi Paula! The recipe as written works really well! Just ensure you have quality chickpeas to start with and soak them long enough. The result should be amazing!
Thank you for this recipe. It is amazing. So simple, quick and bursting with flavour. I have tried 3 other recipes, as well as 2 packets that you add stuff to. This is the best by far, and is now my new go-to falafel recipe. Your tahini sauce is also perfect for my taste.
I will share this recipe with all.
I did double the recipe and used only one pan with 1/4 cup of oil for the double batch. They came out perfectly…trying to cut where I can, as I love cooking and eating!
Cheers,
M
I’m happy it turned out so well for you, Marg!
We are new to your site and really enjoyed this. A recommendation for portioning them: I used a #30 “cookie” scoop/portioner to get them to be equal sizes and it worked great. That size is just about 2 Tbsp.
I’ve had store bought falafels before and these didn’t even compare. I was so surprised at how good they tasted since the ingredients are so simple and healthy. They were insanely delicious and the whole batch was eaten immediately and now I have to make them again ASAP! We’re trying to eat less meat and having this recipe really helps! Thank you!!
You’re welcome! Thanks for your review.
This is #2 of your recipes that I’ve tried this week, and it is a winner! (Well, they both are.) This took me literally 15 minutes from opening the fridge to popping them in the oven. I was dubious about baking instead of frying, but I liked these so much better than the fried falafel I’ve had. Thanks for all the great recipes – you are bringing new life to our kitchen! (I love your tip about the dried beans btw; it definitely made the difference.)
Love that, Nigel! Thank you for your review.
Great recipe! I made this for the first time today and my husband said I should make a double-batch next time. I was going to make it yesterday but the beans were too hard after only a 4 hour soak, so I put them in the refrigerator overnight. They ended up soaking for 26 hours before I used them. I also made your hummus recipe, which turned out great (2nd time making it, I’ll review it separately, but we preferred the flavor of boiling the canned beans without the baking soda. The hummus was a little less creamy but tasted much better to us this way).
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Jamie.
Loved these first time I’ve made them I had some dried chickpeas and was looking for a recipe to use them up and this didn’t disappoint. Made them in my Thermomix thanks for the recipe I will be making them again.
Great to hear, Christine!
Made these today and they were wonderful! I was out of fresh herbs so I subbed mini peppers – they turned out great!
These are delightful! I made them the first time and they came out a bit crumbly. I added an egg and they were perfect!
These came out very good. Even though they broke up apart too easily, they had a nice crispy texture. Would make them again choosing ‘puree’ instead of ‘chop’ on my small food processor so they’re smoother and easier to form patties. Also will soak chickpeas overnight.
Thank you! I am loving virtually all your recipes :) I am a garlic lover and I thought 4 cloves was a touch overpowering, might try with 3 next time. Apart from that, this was a winner. 4.8 stars!
Best wishes from Vivien ♥
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you loved it, even though the garlic seemed strong.
I tried making this with cornstarch added because I could tell it was way too runny to actually bake. No luck. Also tried panko on the outside…no luck there either. I’m going to try putting it in the fridge for a few hours to set (with panko coating at the end) and will let you know how it turns out.
How much liquid did you add? These shouldn’t be runny.
What’s the best way to reheat these after they’ve been refrigerated?
Gently in the microwave works!
This falafel is excellent and I’ve made it many times. I recommend soaking the chickpeas over night. When I do that they turn out great but with shorter soaks I’ve had problems. Twice they wouldn’t break down in the food processor – once with a 4 hour soak and once after 5 1/2 hours, after 10 minutes running the food processor I still had big pieces of chickpeas and had to dump the batch.But with a nice long soak, this makes fantastic falafel.
There can be a lot of variance in chickpeas! I agree, if you can soak overnight preferably. Thank you for your review!
Doubling the recipe is awesome, but blend it in two batches in the food processor to get the best consistency.
Thanks for sharing, James!
Just made these. They are very tasty. I failed to use puree and used chop on my processor so I had some trouble with making them patties (and new turning would be difficult). To rescue the recipe, I used a curved ice cream scoop pressed against my hand and then gently put the ‘ semi-balls’ into our air fryer on 375 for about 10 minutes. The outside was nice and brown and the inside moist in half the time.
I’m sorry these didn’t work out great for you! Need to make sure everything is chopped very fine to form the correct patties.
Absolutely delicious! I only soaked the chickpeas for 5 hours and they turned out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Very good. Flavors mixed well. I was out of olive oil & used sesame instead but had too much, so they were a little runny but still very good. Thank you.
They fall apart… I was thinking when reading the recipe, that if I add an egg, that will do the job. But I followed the recipe :-)
Fifth try at making falafels, fifth failure ;-)
But… this was by far the best try! Still… a failure!
My wife’s comment “wow, you can cook everything, Mike, but falafels you’ll never get right”, still haunts me :-)
Would the measurements be the same if I used dried cilantro and parsley?
Hi Eva! They would not. I’m not sure how this would turn out with dried herbs.
The best baked falafel recipe I have tried. Crispy, soft and flavorful all at once! The whole family loves. I’ve been making them since the Summer. ❤ Thanks
Absolutely loved these! Was just wondering if the flattened shape makes for faster baking only, or just a matter of being done without too much browning…
Hi Colin! I find they help them bake better and evenly.
Delish! Tried tonight for the first time and they were a hit. What is best way to freeze without freezer burn?
Hi Elizabeth! I’m glad you love this recipe. Make sure they are in an airtight container that’s freezer safe. That should work!
really these arent to be boiled in advance only soaked? do you have any instructions for taking some of the gas producing factor down a bit?
Hi mary, I found this worked well soaked long enough and then baked.
Hi Kate,
What is the best way to reheat these if frozen?
Let thaw completely and you can gently warm in the microwave or oven if you like. I hope this helps, Donna!
Wish I would have read the comments BEFORE trying this recipe. Yes, the Ninja Bullet is not the best tool for blending the ingredients. Had to add extra EVO to try to blend everything together. Ended up giving up halfway through and used some elbow grease. They are in the oven and smell delicious. I’m sure they will be fine.
Fala-fail. I promise I followed the instructions to a T, but these did not work for me. They came together ok, and held their shape until they were in the oven. They crumbled on the sheet pan, and crumbled when I touched them. Not sure the cook temp was hot enough, they were not browned at all.
The crumbles tasted great though.
Hi Molly, I’m sorry to hear that. How long did you soak your chickpeas?
Hi Kate, here is again Mr. Pasta…. this recepie is a little too spicy for me, but better then the fried rice so I’m going to give you two stars only becaouse I want encourage you
Greetings
Going to try this out tomorrow but I have a neurotic health-related question as I know other pulses carry a toxin. Do you go straight from soaking the chickpeas into the food processor – i.e. you don’t need to boil then in between?
thanks!
Gav
Hi Gav, no need to boil for this recipe. I’m not a registered nutritionist so I can’t speak more to your health related question, sorry!